The Baby Snatchers (31 page)

It wasn’t Cameron, but she was just as
relieved to see her dad. He could talk sense into the women and
deal with the psychotic episode Rosemary appeared to be having, and
perhaps her mother, too. It was the only thing that made sense.
When they got back to the city, she’d insist both of them undergo
comprehensive psych assessments.

“Keep moving,” Rosemary growled and once
again, Georgie felt the hard barrel of the gun in her back.

A car door slammed and she risked a glance
in her father’s direction. He headed toward them with a purposeful
stride. A moment later, the place was flooded with light and
Georgie guessed he must have triggered the sensors. He continued
toward her with his arms outstretched and she couldn’t hold back a
loud gasp of relief.

“
Daddy!
Thank God you’re here! Aunt
Rosemary’s gone crazy and Mom’s just plain scaring me! Careful,
Aunt Rosemary’s got a gun! I don’t know what she’s doing, but you
need to talk to her.”

In the middle of her monologue, she threw
herself against him and held on tight. His arms wrapped around her.
He held her briefly and then pressed a kiss against her hair and
let her go. Georgie stared at him, confused. He averted his
gaze.

“Dad?” she whispered. Her body flooded with
uncertainty and dread, followed quickly by an overwhelming sense of
panic.

“I’m sorry it’s come to this, Georgie,” he
murmured and then frowned at his wife and sister-in-law. “Surely,
there was no need for the gun?”

“Dad?” Georgie rasped again, filled with
disbelief.

“I told you your father was part of this!”
her mother crowed “Who do you think certified all the death
certificates and obtained registrations of the births?”

Rosemary chuckled and then added, “I used to
falsify them in the old days, under Matron’s guidance, but this
way’s so much less risky… for everyone.”

Georgie looked from her aunt to her parents
and was filled with a fresh wave of fear and horror. Tears poured
down her cheeks. “Daddy!
Nooo!
Not you, too! How
could
you!” The sobs came in earnest now and at first she
didn’t notice when her aunt raised the gun, her arms
outstretched.

“Rosemary!” her father snapped. “What the
hell are you doing? Put that gun away before somebody gets hurt.”
He stepped forward and reached for the weapon.

* * *

Cam checked the satellite navigation screen
mounted on the console of his car and made a sharp right. According
to the GPS, the property owned by Georgie’s mother lay directly up
ahead. Slowing, he pulled over to the side and killed the engine
and lights. A faint glimmer of illumination could be seen through
the thick covering of bushes and trees.

Cam reached for the service revolver he’d
left on the front seat and was grateful he’d taken the time to go
via the station and sign it out. Though Rohan had expressed his
reservations, Cam assured him it was purely a precautionary
measure. He still had no idea what was going on with Georgie, but
he believed in being prepared.

He’d left several other messages on her
phone since the time she’d sent the last text, but he’d heard
nothing. His last call had gone straight to her mailbox. He could
only assume her phone had been switched off, but knowing she wasn’t
at the movies, he couldn’t help but wonder why. His sense of
foreboding grew.

Choosing his steps with care in the
darkness, Cam picked his way toward the house. The evening was
still and quiet. He shivered in the cold night air. Winter always
came earlier in the mountains. Sometimes, they even saw snow—

The sound of a woman’s cry broke the
stillness and Cam’s blood ran to ice.

Georgie!

His heart skipped a beat and then began to
pound. He didn’t know for sure it was her, but he wasn’t hanging
around waiting to find out. Sprinting now, he bolted in the
direction of the noise and broke out of the trees. He found himself
in a cleared area. Lights shone from the house directly ahead. He
recognized Marjorie Whitely, even from the back. Frederick
Rolleston was also there, next to Georgie. A short distance away
Rosemary Lawson faced the three of them, holding a gun.

Cam’s heart went into overdrive. Quickly, he
dialed the station and was relieved when Rohan answered. As
quietly, and with as few words as he could manage, Cam explained
the situation and ordered the local cavalry.

Ducking low beside a thick hedge, he eased
the safety off his gun. Raising himself just high enough so that he
could see the people in front of him, he listened in disbelief.

“What the hell are you doing, Fred? Georgie
needs to die. She knows too much.”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” the doctor snapped.
“I don’t care what she knows. We’re not murderers. We can get her
to see reason. Now, give me the gun.”

Rosemary cackled and moved out of reach. “I
don’t think so, Fred. I started this and I’m going to finish
it.”

Frederick stepped in front of his daughter.
“You’ll have to shoot me first.”

“Fred!” Marjorie gasped. “What are you
doing?”

“I’m saving our daughter from your crazy
sister. What are
you
doing?”

Marjorie looked from one to the other,
appearing more and more confused. “Fred’s right, Rosemary. Put the
gun down. Murder was never part of our plan. We help people. We
don’t kill them.”

“Your daughter’s ruined everything!”
Rosemary shouted, waving the gun around. “She must be removed. I
can’t take the risk that she’ll blab to the police and spoil it for
all of us. She’s even dating a detective. Did you know that,
Fred?”

Fred frowned and turned slightly to look at
Georgie. “Is that true? You’re seeing someone?”

Cam strained to hear Georgie’s answer and
felt a surge of relief when she responded in the affirmative.

“And you never told me?” her father
exclaimed.

Georgie’s reply was masked by her aunt’s
snort of impatience. “Who cares about her boyfriend? She’s never
going to see him again.”

Cam heard the distinct click of the gun’s
safety being removed—and froze.
Fuck!
The thought
reverberated around his head at the same instant his reflexes
kicked in. With his mind spinning furiously, he tried to put
together a plan of attack.

Over and over, he cursed under his breath,
wondering how far away the local police were. He was armed, but
with the group of people standing so close together, he might not
be able to get off a clear shot and he’d never risk Georgie getting
hurt. He had to think of some way to distract them, or at least,
get her out of the path of a stray bullet.

Careful to maintain his cover, Cam crept
forward. A stick snapped under his boot and his heart leaped into
his throat. Easing himself up high enough to see over the hedge, he
noticed all four people now stared in his direction.

With his heart thumping hard enough to
burst, Cam plotted his next move. As he watched, Rosemary advanced
on the others.

“Unless you want to take the first bullet,
you’ll get out of my way, Fred.”

Georgie’s father didn’t move. Rosemary came
even closer.

“Fred!” Marjorie squeaked. “I think she’s
serious!”

“I have no intention of going to jail, Fred.
If we let her live, that’s where we’ll all end up.”

Frederick’s shoulders slumped and Cam’s
breath caught in his throat. He waited for the man’s response.

“Then so be it, Rosemary. I refuse to allow
you to murder my daughter. She had nothing to do with this. Let the
police arrest us! Let us be judged by our peers. You might be
surprised how many of them will sympathize with our cause. They
might even admire us for our courage.”

Marjorie turned to her husband, her face
filled with hope. “Really?”

Frederick shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Don’t listen to him! Rosemary shouted.
“He’s spinning you fairytales, dear sister. Now, step aside, or I
swear I’ll shoot you all!”

She rushed forward with her arms
outstretched, the gun pointed toward the doctor. Right behind him
was Georgie. With Cam’s choices dissolving before his eyes, he
stood and revealed himself.

“Drop the gun!” he shouted and almost
simultaneously spied a puff of smoke coming from the end of
Rosemary’s pistol. A millisecond later, he heard the roar. At the
same time, he squeezed the trigger and watched both Georgie and her
aunt fall to the ground. His gaze shot to Georgie and his heart
stood still.

Georgie came awake slowly and then gasped at
the sharp pain in her side. Muted light shone through the
half-closed blinds. She moved slightly and a piercing headache
stabbed at the back of her eyes. Cam materialized beside her,
soothing her with quiet murmurings and a tender smile.

“How are you doing?” he whispered and leaned
over to brush a strand of hair off her forehead.

“I feel like I’ve been hit by a bus,” she
croaked. “What happened?”

Cam frowned. “You don’t remember?”

“Some of it.”

“Your aunt—”

“Yes, I remember that part.” She grimaced
against another wave of pain, this time from the vicinity of her
heart.

“You took a bullet in the chest, just below
your collarbone. It went out through your shoulder. Luckily, it
missed the artery.”

“Was I shot by…my aunt?”

Cam’s lips compressed and his expression
turned grim. “Yes.”

Georgie cried out in distress and closed her
eyes. She couldn’t bear to think about it.
What kind of aunt
fired a bullet at her niece with the intention of seeing her
dead?
Not the aunt she thought she’d known. And then there were
her parents…

She shuddered and went cold all over. Icy
tentacles of desolation clutched at her heart. She was grateful to
be alive, but she couldn’t imagine ever feeling warm again; feeling
anything.

“Where is she?” she asked numbly.

Cam stared at her steadily in silence, as if
contemplating what to say. She made an impatient sound in the back
of her throat and clenched her fists. “Tell me,” she said in a
voice that brooked no argument.

“Your aunt was shot and killed during the
incident.”

Georgie gasped. “By…you?”

“Yes.”

She tried to absorb the shock. “And my
parents? Are they okay?”

“Yes. Your father was shielding you from
your aunt and was grazed by the bullet that entered your chest, but
he’s fine, along with your mother.”

“Where are they?”

Cam’s expression turned grim. “They were
arrested at the scene on a string of charges and were taken back to
the City of Sydney Police Station. There will be a bail hearing for
them later in the morning. There’s no reason bail won’t be granted,
given the circumstances.”

Though Georgie had been expecting bad news,
Cam’s words still rocked her to the core. Her aunt was dead. No
doubt her parents would spend a good deal of what was left of their
lives behind bars. Her family had been torn apart and would never
be put back together again. It all seemed surreal and yet, it was
now the reality of her life. “What about Uncle Bernard?” she asked
dully. “I assume he’s been arrested, too.”

Cam’s lips tightened and he nodded.

“Do my sisters know?”

“Yes.”

“Where are they?”

“They’re outside, in the waiting room. The
doctors have been restricting your visitors, at least until you
regained consciousness. You hit your head on a rock when you fell.
You were so still, I thought you were dead.” Cam paled. “I thought
I’d lost you forever.” His voice broke with the force of his
emotion and he looked away.

Ignoring her pain, she reached out and
touched him. He turned back toward her and clasped her hand in his.
Pressing a soft kiss against her knuckles, he leaned closer, his
voice still ragged.

“You can’t imagine how terrified I felt,
seeing you on the ground. The time we’d spent together… It just
seemed way too short. I want us to spend the rest of our lives
together, enjoying every moment that we can. Is it too soon to feel
that way?”

Georgie stared up at him and a tiny sliver
of warmth slid into her frozen heart. She shook her head and then
winced at the pain, but managed to smile anyway. “No, it’s not too
soon. I… I feel the same.”

Cam’s eyes widened and gave her a hesitant
smile. “Really? After everything we’ve been through?”

Georgie’s heart clenched with pain at the
thought of everything that had happened. She looked back at Cam.
“You’re not to blame.”

Cam’s expression filled with tenderness.
“Thank you for being understanding. I’m not sure I would be so open
in the circumstances.”

Georgie shrugged. “They made their own
choices many years ago. It had nothing to do with you. Or me.”

Cam nodded. “I’m grateful you see it that
way. I could learn some lessons from you on the art of forgiveness.
I… I’m sorry about what I said about your baby and the…adoption.
I’m sure you had good reasons for doing it.”

Georgie stared at him. “I did.”

“I should never have spoken to you like I
did. It wasn’t fair to assume you were like my birth mother.”

“And how was she?”

Cam frowned and Georgie could see he was
struggling to find an answer. The truth was, he had no idea why his
birth mother had given him up for adoption and he probably never
would. It was just one of the things he’d have to deal with—just
like her son. The thought saddened her.

“Don’t look so sad, Georgie. I’m so sorry we
argued.”

Forcing a smile, she reassured him again
that she wasn’t angry about their quarrel. Relief washed over his
face and he pressed another kiss to the back of her hand.

“I love you, Georgie.”

Her smiled widened. The sliver of warmth
spread through her chest and kept going, all the way down to her
toes. Despite the trauma and tragedy she’d recently experienced,
happiness trickled into her heart. “I love you, too.”